The Braunstone Health and Social Care Centre will deliver an integrated service to
one of the top ten deprived wards in the UK. Until now, the provision of health and social care was
provided by separate services in discrete locations. This paper describes a project to house an
integrated service model within a new sustainable building, exploiting passive solar principles and
natural ventilation. The building has a deep plan punctuated by courtyards. Its section is
configured to admit winter sun through controllable south facing rooflights. The building is of
lightweight construction. Pre-cooling of ventilation supply air in summer is proposed via a belowfloor
labyrinth. The risk of summertime overheating and the potential contribution of the pre-cooling
is tested by computer simulation. The design, and in particular its energy aspects, is the product of
widespread consultation with the public and the stakeholders.
Conference Topic: Design Strategies, Case Studies, Low Energy Architecture